Not to be entirely outdone by label mates following the reaper, Deathlike Silence also have a similar gimmick, welcome to ‘Gravedigger Metal.’ These Finns seem to like dressing up as though they are about to lower a coffin into the ground and have their own mascot, wearing top-hat and tails and carrying a spade. They even cheekily have him on the cover of the new album replacing Max von Sydow’s silhouetted shadow outside that infamous house in The Exorcist. Being on Spinefarm you may already have preconceived ideas of what this is going to sound like even if you had not heard the group’s debut album ‘Vigor Mortis.’ I expected romping keys and crunchy rhythmic thrusts and snarly vocals when I first glimpsed the cover but was completely wrong as Deathlike Silence owe more to Nightwish than they do to Children Of Bodom and that does not mean they are a carbon copy of them either.
‘Trapped In The Night’ starts with a classic rock sounding wailing guitar chord before we are introduced to vocalist Maya Liittokivi. Her tone is not overly operatic you might be pleased to note, her style of singing is much more simplistic and works just fine without coming across as pompous and overblown. Indeed this is as much hard rock as it is heavy metal and not really that hard either, it’s quite on the commercial side actually and might even have granny nodding her head to it (before it topples off her rotting neck stump and lands on her lap). Keyboards pick up the pace on ‘And You Cry’ and this jets off on more of a bodice ripping romp and one that is pretty melodic and easily memorable.
I don’t think I have ever picked a favourite track off an album that is a ballad but I’m going to stick my neck out here and do just that. ‘Who’s Gonna Bury Me’ is not only the sort of song title gravely (oh dear) missed by Sentenced but also a drop dead (ha sorry) gorgeous number with a chorus that has shivers running down my spine. I note that it’s on their MySpace page, so go listen to it now! Themes are lived up to and this has a bit of a gothic lyrical approach and if it were a movie it would be slightly frightening and not very gory at all. The 11 numbers are high in quality and will have you humming along in no time at all as they flow between mid paced rock numbers and sultry and romantic ballads. There is nothing particularly complicated and challenging here which no doubt helped it rise quickly to the top of my review pile but if you like good, well-crafted songs you simply cant go wrong with ‘Saturday Night Evil.’ Warning though, the cover of Mike Oldfield’s ‘Moonlight Shadow’ is a bit too cheesy for comfort!
http://www.myspace.com/deathlikesilencerules
http://www.deathlikesilence.com
